For many years customers frequented large department stores, such as J.C. Penney or Macy's to purchase the desired merchandise. If the customer desired merchandise not carried by that large retailer, then the customer was required to visit another retailer located at a different site. Entrepreneurs, seeing this phenomenon, proposed that several retailers of both large and small size be contained within one large connected area so that customers could still visit their respective merchants to purchase the merchandise they desired; however, they need only make one trip to purchase their merchandise from multiple retailers. The mall concept has spread throughout the world and malls are now located within virtually all large to medium sized cities or towns. The idea of going to the mall to purchase one's goods still remains one of the most productive ways in which a retailer can place his merchandise in front of the customer.
However, with the creation of the Internet and the increasing customer access to the Internet, merchants have begun to place stores on-line in which a customer may access the retailer's store from the comfort of his own home and view and purchase the merchant's merchandise. Therefore, the customer's travel from his home to the merchant's store has been replaced by electronic travel, using the customer's computer to access the merchant's computer system in which the consumer may visit the merchant's store.
As was required prior to the creation of malls, however, the customer must be aware of each retailer's location and must be aware that the retailer exists so that the customer may access the retailer's specific store. Therefore, any advancement in the ability to place multiple retailers in front of a customer in one location would be advantageous.